The Dessert's First Rain
by onesong10
Summary: She was warned not to go near him, not to look at him, not to befriend him, and to hate him... and now she has to live with his existence... his existence as proof of her cowardliness... Gaara X OC
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Hi everyone, I decided to write a fanfic about Gaara and his love experience. I hope you enjoy it. And because I'm still catching up on Naruto Shippuden (it's been a long time since I watched/ read it), please note that ** this story takes place after Gaara returns to Sunagakure after having Shukaku extracted from him. **

**Prologue: The Kazekage Returns **

"Don't go near him!"

"He'll eat you!"

"Why won't he die?"

"Look at his eyes…"

"Don't look at his eyes! He'll kill you!"

"He's a threat to all of us!"

Those were the words and murmur I grew up with. Why… why….why won't they leave me alone?

My eyes shot open as I felt beads of sweat trickling down my back. The sun's rays were shinning into my room as I made my way towards the bathroom. I knew why… because _he_ was coming back… our Kazekage…

I quickly drank a cup of milk and closed the door behind me. The streets were empty and almost silent, except for a few shinobis that were moving about. Everyone has gone to the cleft (which was the entrance to our village) to wait for his return. It was almost frightening to see how quickly everyone changed their views on him. For some, they were relieved that he was no longer carrying Shukaku within him. For others, they were relieved that our Kazekage is still alive (after all, who will protect our village?). Still, there were some that continue to resent him for what he did, and for becoming Kazekage at such an early age. However, those people never went to challenge him.

I took my place at the top and stared out into the vast amount of sand. The sun continued to shine brightly as a gust of warm air gently kissed my face. I looked down and saw Baki and the other shinobis waiting eagerly for his return.

Suddenly, the little boy next to me tugged on his mother's sleeve and whispered, "Is that them?"

I looked out into the horizon and saw dots of orange, black, pink, white, green and beige. Most importantly, I saw red. My right hand clenched into a fist as the dot of red drew closer. People started cheering loudly around me and began to descend to the bottom. I remained in my position as I saw him limp closer to us. He didn't look weak, just a little bit exhausted.

As I closed my eyes to pray for Chiyo oba-san, my heart and emotions felt conflicted at the same time. I was grateful that she revived Gaara, yet at the same time, I hated myself for partially wishing she hadn't.

For his existence is the living proof of my cowardliness…


	2. Chapter 1: Miscalculations

**Chapter 1: Miscalculations**

I stared blankly at the mountains of paper in front of me. Ever since his return, I have been losing sleep each night. Each night, I would wake up to the same dream. The dream that kept telling me he was dangerous and that I should stay away from him. I _have_ been staying away from him… it has been years since I have laid my eyes on him, except when he returned from his Shushaku extraction.

"Hey you, take this and hand it out to all the villagers." THUMP! Another stack of paper appeared before me.

"Yes Sir!" I jumped slightly as I took the stack of papers and made my way towards the stairs. It was sunny today (like any other day) as I shield my eyes from the sun with the back of my hand. If only I was a shinobi… then I could deliver these quickly and tackle the remaining mountains on my desk. Wait, I should hold that thought. I sighed and read the first address on the paper.

The only reason why I chose this job was because I didn't have to look at him. My job is in the administrative department, and I was mainly responsible for document organization and productions. On some occasions, I would be assigned miscellaneous tasks like deliveries (such as now). This meant, I had less chances of seeing him. The benefits of this position would never permit me to interact with the Kazekage directly (my rank was too low), I would be out running errands while he stays in his office, and at the end of the day he would still be in the office when I leave. I smiled slightly at my own brilliance.

Buildings around me casted their large and shapely shadows on the ground, reminding me that the sun was starting to set. Hmmm… I thought for sure the address was here. Maybe it was down this alley? A pair of mother and daughter was in front of me as I tailed behind them.

"You know, our Kazekage-sama has grown into such a fine young man."

"Oh mother, didn't you once slam the door in his face when he was younger?"

"Well, that was before he protected us. He has changed for the better, much more approachable."

"You mean he lost his hunger killing eyes?"

"He has worked hard and has proven himself, I wish your brother can take some lessons from him."

"As if, you know wielding sand is exclusive to him. That's what makes him so strong. And handsome!"

"He is our Kazekage-sama after all. Thank goodness he's alright now."

The pair continued their conversation before turning right at a corner, and my pace slowed down. It was true that he has changed. I used to hear cruel words about him from the villagers but nowadays, praise and admiration has replaced them. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and picked up my pace. The heat from the sun was starting to fade yet the mountains of paper were still waiting for me at the office.

Eh? Without warning, I tripped as my papers started to fly and fluttered to the ground. **Bang! Bang! Bang!** Sounds of explosion surrounded me as I noticed little slips of white paper exploded into shreds. Sprinkles of clay and dust fell down as I looked up at the cracks spreading rapidly in the clay building above me. A loud cracking sound thundered with the company of a shower of clay debris. I would never make it! The remaining papers in my hand were immediately abandoned as my arms automatically shot up to create a cover over my head. I braced myself for the large and unexpected piece of clay as it detached itself from the building. I was prepared to have my arms and head injured (and a future scolding from my supervisor) but to my astonishment, I felt nothing. Was I killed in an instant and was spared the pain? Opening my right eye slowly, I noticed darkness around me. Great… so did I end up in hell? I have been a good person so far… unless… was I sent to hell because I didn't go see his inauguration as the Kazekage? Was that considered a sin? Wait… maybe that _was_ considered a sin in Sunakagure? Was this written somewhere and I overlooked it? Or? My head was starting to hurt as I started to rationalize the possibilities, when a faint sound of falling sand interrupted my thoughts.

My mind and body froze. As rays of the sunset penetrated the darkness, it dawned on me that I was inside a dome made of sand. As the sand started to disintegrate, I turned my head slowly behind me. It couldn't be… but there he was. He was in his Kazekage robe, the white robe fluttering slightly in the late afternoon breeze. Shades of red touched his auburn hair when caught under the sunset's rays. There was a moment of silence as we stared at each other. Finally, he picked up a sheet of paper that had fallen near him and offered it to me. I took it from him (without even looking at him) as I scrambled to pick up the other sheets quickly. Why did he have to save me? Out of all the people?! And shouldn't he be in the office at this time?

"Um…" He started softly, but I gave him no chance to continue further.

"…thank you, Kazekage-sama." I said in a hurry and bent down to snatch the remaining sheet of paper off from the ground.

"Kazekage-sama, we have finished setting up." Two shinobis reported as they appeared out of nowhere.

"Hm." Gaara gave a small nod as the two shinobis disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared.

It was moments like these that I don't regret choosing to not be a shinobi. Minimal or zero interaction with him was the way to live. I looked at the stack of disorganized papers as I let out a disgruntled sigh. Looks like I will be staying late… not too late though… as I sneaked a peak at the Kazekage. What was he doing here anyway? Never mind, it was none of my business. My goal was to avoid him and finish delivering these.

"You're Hotaru." It sounded more like a statement than a question. How and why does he know my name? As if reading my mind, he responded in his monotone voice. "I've memorized everyone's name at the office. And you leave your chocolate trail on the documents."

Chocolate? No one was supposed to know I secretly ate them at work. There were no stains on the documents, I made sure of it. I could feel my hands becoming clammy at the abnormal thumping of my heart. It was rumoured that the Kazekage did not like sweets so everyone (except me) avoided eating them at the office.

"You…" He continued as I took a step back while he mimicked my step forward. His mint colored eyes slightly dropped as he regarded my reaction.

"Kazekage-sama, we are ready to go." A deep voice interrupted as one of the two earlier shinobis appeared behind him, and disappeared after relaying the message.

I stared at his emotionless face as the sun exhausted its last rays behind him, casting a dark shadow on his fair skin. What was he going to say? You are fired? Perhaps for intoxicating him with my trails of chocolate? Silence continued to linger in the air between us, with each passing second inducing more clamminess to my hands. I knew I needed to move. Gathering all of my concentration on my stiff legs, I willed for them to move but it was to no avail.

"Hotaru." He repeated my name in the same monotone voice. Unable to move, I could only watch with my unblinking eyes as his body turned and with a flash, disappeared into the orange and red skies.

I am so dead.

* * *

I swung the door open as moonlight welcomed me home, its beam of light barely lit a framed picture I drew of my family. I'm home, mom and dad. I smiled at the picture hanging on the wall in front of me. My shoulders and left arm ached as I reached for the light switch to my left. I collapsed onto my bed as I stared at the cream colored ceiling, my pain momentarily disappeared as they sank into the soft mattress.

"Hotaru." His monotone voice echoed in my head.

And with that, I fell asleep, pondering what would happen to me the next day at the Kazekage office.


End file.
